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Finding a good teacher meant in my case finding good tutorials, videos, recording myself and comparing the position of my fingers with the players, to make sure I didn’t twist my hands in weird angles and such. It depends if you’re good at self teaching or you need more guidance. For example, I find Josh Layne’s explanations enough for now, but if I get stuck somewhere and I really think I need classes, I’d contact him or another teacher to have a couple or three classes, but after that I prefer to keep walking on my own.
Hey dulcimers are awesome! Then you won’t have problems with the balance. So out of curiosity I’ve seen in Clive Morley harps they have secondhand lap harps and a 34string harp for 800 pounds. As far as I know they only sell legit brands so In my opinion it’s a good option, although they come from England so the shipping costs may be more expensive. Also in Camac site they don’t show their small model but they make 27string harps too, I have no idea about the price though.
https://www.detroubadourharpen.nl/The_Bards_Harps/download_price_list_files/prijslijst_harpen.pdf
I also found the prices from detrobadourharpen (online store in the netherlands). I left the link here but I’m not sure if links get deleted. I don’t know if you already saw all this, hope it’s useful ^_^
Hey! I’m also from Spain, and I totally understand what you mean when you say it’s not practical to rent and also not easy to go to a store and try them. Unless you live in Madrid. I ended up buying a Camac Hermine (34 strings), without trying it first and buying what they had in stock (it was right at the beginning of the lockdown so I didn’t have many choices either), and I have to say I’m very happy with it. I can’t compare it to any other, so what do I know xD
What they told me is that to start learning it’s easier to start with a floor harp, because smaller harps have the difficulty of balancing it, so while you’re learning technique, you’ll also be struggling with the balance. I’m not sure about what your budget is, but I bought mine for a bit less than 3000€, including a full set of strings and the shipping to Tarragona. The rep seller in Spain, Alexander, was very informative and helpful. Sorry I can’t recommend other brands or stores, but that’s my experience:)Also, I think you could consider renting to buy. At least Camac lets you rent a harp and after some months if you want to buy it, what you’ve been paying is discounted to the total price. It’s a good way to buy it if your budget is limited now but you know you could afford it in let’s say 6 months. Like a layaway for part of the price. I can’t really help with the quality of the harps you’ve mentioned because I have never played any of them. I own a Camac Hermine (34str) though, and I’m very happy with it. I would personally find fewer strings limiting, and I don’t know how to transpose (yet), so having only levers on C and F would also be limiting to me. As they’ve already said, it depends on the player. Where do you live? If you live in Europe, Camac and Salvi for example will have better prices than Dusty Strings and vice versa. The importing fees and exchange rates is also a thing to consider.
Hi there! I’ve been reading all the conversation and I wanted to say I love when a thread ends with “I finalyy bought this one!”, it makes me really happy! I’m sure you’ll love your harp 🙂 Best wishes
AnnieI don’t know how feasible it would be, but even if you would have to pay for extra shipping costs, maybe you could rent the two of them at the same time, have both at home for some days and try them. After that, you could ship the one that is not your option back and keep the best for you, paying for the rest. Again, I don’t know if it can be done. I give you this idea because my boyfriend wanted to buy a guitar and ended up buying 3 guitars and returning two, keeping the one he liked the most. He had to pay for extra shipping costs but in the end it was worth it. Harps are way bigger, though, so I have no idea how much that could increase the price.
Oh no… I barely knew him beside a couple messages here and there, but when I saw one of his videos I instantly fell in love with his music. When I knew about his life it also amazed me a lot. Losing him saddens me a lot. Thank you guys for sharing all the beautiful words you have about him, those who knew him and are sharing moments you lived, or his story.
Sure! About the profile pic, it’s a little bit tricky, I’ll copy paste the steps I followed (thanks Evolène!)
You have to go to the website “Gravatar.com”, which depends on WordPress. You must :
– Create (or find old) profile on WordPress. (I created one with the e-mail I’m using here)
– Use WrodPress to connect on Gravatar, basically log in.
– On Avatar here , they explain how to upload an image from your hard drive to the website, and then set is as your profile picture. You’ll see a button saying “add a new image” and there you have it.Hey, I have doubts between the same harps as you, and also Aziliz. I think the best way to see which one is better for you is testing them in person, that’s what I’d like to do when the moment comes. It’s good to know the price difference between the Isolde and the Excalibur is worth it, though. I guess if 1000€ makes a real difference in sound, it’s a better investment in the long run. However (and sorry, I know you’re not asking for that other model), the Excalibur and Aziliz are similar in price, being Aziliz slightly more expensive, so I guess it’s a question of how comfortable you are with one or another.
Wow, that’s awesome! I’d definetely try to go there if I visit Chicago someday.
I remember watching a video of Deborah Henson-Conant showing the process of a DHC camac harp and it was truly interesting.Hello! I am more or less in the same situation. I am also wondering the difference in feel and sound of those type of strings. I think the best way to know for sure which one is for you is just trying them. No matter how many videos you watch and how many reviews and opinions you read, an instrument is different for everyone. I am also intetested in Camac Hermine with FC strings and Camac Melusine (celtic) with nylon, and after a couple of months of research I have to say I couldn’t come to a conclusion. Nylon is cheaper but as I read it can be less durable and loses the fine tone more easily, some say it sounds brighter than FC, some say the opposite. FC are more expensive but less sensitive to humidity and weather changes, and new strings have to be tuned a lot until they settle. Some people say they’re too thin gor their fingers, but sound better than nylon. So yeah, no conclusion until I test them with my own hands and ears and see which one is for me.
Hi Jerusha, the version of Capricho Arabe I’m playing is probably a little bit simplified (not too much, though). And the problem with the uke is the small range, some things have to be changed to adapt to it and change octaves in specific places. I agree it would be so awesome to hear it played on a harp. I found a girl on youtube that played spanish flamenco on a celtic harp and damn she’s so good at it! I am not sure if in typical spanish melodies there are a lot of lever changes or if it’s pure phrygian mode (at least it sounds like that a lot). I’d really like to try playing this kind of music on a harp, it’ll take time because I don’t even have one yet, lol! But it’s in my mind already. By the way, I’m making progresses with C. Arabre, I alreayd can play (slowly) 1 page out of 3, yayy!
